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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Neonatology
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2024.1436885

Comparative analysis of different methods for protein quantification in donated human milk

Provisionally accepted
Elisabet Navarro-Tapia Elisabet Navarro-Tapia 1Ana Herranz Barbero Ana Herranz Barbero 2Maribel Marquina Maribel Marquina 3Cristina Borràs-Novell Cristina Borràs-Novell 2Vanessa Pleguezuelos Vanessa Pleguezuelos 4Rafael Vila-Candel Rafael Vila-Candel 1Óscar García-Algar Óscar García-Algar 2Vicente Andreu-Fernández Vicente Andreu-Fernández 3*
  • 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Valencian International University, Valencia, Spain
  • 2 Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
  • 3 Biosanitary Research Institute, Valencian International University, Castelló de la Plana, Valencia, Spain
  • 4 Banc de Sang i Teixits, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Human milk is the best option for the feeding of all newborns, especially in premature infants. In the absence breast milk, milk from a human milk bank (HMB) can be a suitable alternative. However, the nutritional content of human milk may be insufficient to meet these high requirements and milk fortification is needed. To facilitate the implementation of simpler and faster analysers in neonatal healthcare facilities, this study focuses on the concordance analysis of two different analysers based on mid-infrared (MIR) and ultrasound in comparison to the Bradford method for the determination of protein concentration in human milk. Methods: Mature milk samples from donor mothers were collected and pasteurised at the Human Milk Bank of Barcelona and protein quantification was performed using mid-infrared (MIRIS-HMA), ultrasound (MilkoScope Julie27) and the classical Bradford reference method. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with 95% confidence interval and Bland-Altman plots were used to assess the agreement between methods. Results: The mean protein concentration of 142 milk samples by MIRIS-HMA, MilkoScope and Bradford assay were 1.38, 1.15, and 1.19 g/100mL, respectively. The ICC was 0.70 for MIRIS-HMA vs. Bradford and 0.37 for MilkoScope vs. Bradford. Conclusions: MIRIS-HMA obtained a better agreement with the Bradford technique and is a promising technique for the development of new devices based on mid-infrared transmission spectroscopy principles. This study confirms how MIRIS-HMA can be used to accurately calculate the protein concentration of human milk.

    Keywords: Protein quantification, infrared, Bradford assay, Ultrasonic, miR

    Received: 22 May 2024; Accepted: 10 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Navarro-Tapia, Herranz Barbero, Marquina, Borràs-Novell, Pleguezuelos, Vila-Candel, García-Algar and Andreu-Fernández. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Vicente Andreu-Fernández, Biosanitary Research Institute, Valencian International University, Castelló de la Plana, 46021, Valencia, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.